Mercury Hayes

He selected the University of Michigan over several elite football programs, including the Colorado Buffaloes, Florida State Seminoles, Arkansas Razorbacks, and USC Trojans.

[7] During Hayes' Michigan Wolverines career, the team's best finish was as 1992 Big Ten Conference Champions, when coached by Gary Moeller.

During that year, the team finished ranked fifth nationally in both the Associated Press college football final poll and the CNN/USA Today college football final poll,[5] and the team beat the Washington Huskies 38–31 in the January 1, 1993 Rose Bowl in a game that is memorable for Tyrone Wheatley's MVP performance.

[9] Hayes' 179-yard performance against the Virginia Cavaliers was the 1995 single-game high by any of the Wolverines wide receivers, tight ends and running backs, which included Amani Toomer, Jay Riemersma, Chris Howard, Jerame Tuman, Tshimanga Biakabutuka, Tai Streets and Chris Floyd.

[10] At the end of his Michigan career, Hayes' 923 yards ranked sixth on the single-season yardage list, but it is now fifteenth.

[4] Amani Toomer and Hayes were the fourth pair of Michigan receivers to have played together with 2000 career reception yards.

The University of Colorado was so interested in having him in the 1992 incoming class with Koy Detmer and Rashaan Salaam that they reserved their 25th scholarship for him, hoping he would change his mind after having committed to Michigan.

[20] The reception was recorded against University of Virginia Cavaliers defensive backs Ronde Barber and Paul London in the Pigskin Classic to complete what was at the time the largest comeback in Michigan Football history in Lloyd Carr's coaching debut.

[23] Hayes also had season highs in reception yards as a freshman and sophomore against his hometown Houston Cougars football team.

Among the wide receivers drafted that year were first rounders Keyshawn Johnson, Terry Glenn, Eddie Kennison, Marvin Harrison and Eric Moulds.

Additionally, Bobby Engram, Terrell Owens, Muhsin Muhammad, Joe Horn and former Michigan teammate Amani Toomer were also drafted that year.

[26][27] Mercury Hayes' NFL career longest reception of 50 yards, caught in week 14 of the 1996 National Football League season in a 26–10 loss to the St. Louis Rams, was the first NFL pass by Doug Nussmeier (Nussmeier's second pass was his only touchdown completion).

[29] Hayes started the 1997 National Football League season on the New Orleans Saints' roster and appeared in 4 games.